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 I
suppose it was only a matter of time...
Eleven years
after MTV's The Real World helped pioneer the reality TV
genre, and almost 3 years after it became a bona-fide phenomenon
with the first Survivor series, the reality craze finally
makes the jump to the big screen with The Real Cancun.
While it might be easy to dismiss this low-budget quickie as just
a lame attempt to extend an over-rated gimmick into entertainment's
final frontier, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it was relentlessly,
tastelessly and shamelessly entertaining.
More than
40,000 college kids flock to Cancun, Mexico, every year to take
part in the world's most outrageous Spring Break party. This year,
sixteen tight, buff, sexy students were chosen from college campuses
across the country to share a beautiful beachfront villa for 8
days. While that may sound like a dream come true, they also had
to endure the constant presence of 6 camera crews, who followed
them around and filmed everything they did (and believe me, they
did a lot). During this time, bonds were forged, romances were
sparked, friendships were tested and hearts were broken all in
the name of Spring Break.
Costing just
under $8 million to make, The Real Cancun is opening in
theaters a mere 5 weeks after it was finished filming. That type
of rush job may signal a train wreck waiting to happen, but the
results are surprisingly polished and effective. Of course, it
helps that the film is too hot for TV and takes full advantage
of its R-rating by supplying a healthy dose of topless girls,
lots of T&A, sex, drinking, partying...and did I mention sex?
The (supposedly)
unscripted dialogue is surprisingly sharp, and the film features
more character arcs than you'll find in most Hollywood features.
Front and center of the pack is Alan, who starts off his Spring
Break holiday looking like he got off the wrong plane. An insecure,
naive "good boy" to the extreme, Alan doesn't drink,
smoke or take drugs, and he couldn't get laid even if his life
depended on it. By the time the film is over, Alan becomes a super-confident
party hero who could literally write the book on how to score
chicks.
Among the
others standing out from the sex-starved partygoers: Paul is a
suave ladies man who finds himself drawn to the beautiful, headstrong
Sky. After a few days of courting her with mixed signals, Paul
loses his patience and moves onto greener (read: hornier) pastures.
Matt, a buff stud who has never worked a day in his life, has
the hots for Sarah, an aspiring actress who has a boyfriend back
home. While they never really cross the line, feelings are eventually
hurt to the point where you'd swear they actually hooked up.
I don't know
what's worse; the fact that The Real Cancun is one of the
most entertaining movies of the year (which speaks volumes about
the crap we've seen so far), or the fact that it will most likely
spawn lots of quality-deprived reality-based copycats before the
year is out. Whatever the case, The Real Cancun is here,
so you might as well enjoy it for what it is; an irresistibly
funny and sexy party that will probably leave you feeling like
you need a shower by the time it's over.
....now will
somebody please pass the soap.
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